The mother of an 11-year-old boy forced to wait 24 hours for surgery on his badly broken leg has called for improved communication between hospital staff and patients.
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Jasper Hodge suffered a broken leg in a motorcycle crash near Collingullie on Sunday and his mother Christine Macintosh called triple-0 at 4.21pm.
But it was not until almost exactly 24 hours later that Jasper, who is now recovering at home, was taken into an operating theatre for surgery on the spiral fracture to his leg.
After undergoing initial emergency treatment, Jasper was scheduled to have his operation at 2pm on Monday.
“The time I actually walked out of the theatre, it was actually 4.18pm,” Ms Macintosh, who has private health insurance, said.
Ms Macintosh is concerned not only about the amount of time between when Jasper was first admitted to hospital and when his surgery took place, but also about what she described as a lack of communication between hospital staff and families.
At the scheduled time of Jasper’s surgery, all of the hospital’s operating theatres were in use and hospital director Helen Cooper said the boy’s surgery was delayed because of an emergency situation.
Ms Macintosh said Jasper became distressed just before his surgery not only because of the delay, but also because he was unable to eat or drink, although he was on a drip.
“We are understanding that this is the public system and there are emergencies, so people do get pushed back, but the point of the matter is that no one shares information back,” Ms Macintosh said.
“Jasper has a trust issue with hospitals and nursing staff because he has been in them all his life.
“The emergency services were all great and they seemed to cope very well.
“But as we moved through the system, and time periods, there seemed to be a lack of information-sharing and communication.
“I tried to share information with the nursing staff down there, and they just didn’t want to take it on board.
“I tried to explain to them ‘be careful with this kid, he’s had 10 years worth of surgeries on the legs’.”
Jasper was born with talipes – also known as clubfoot – and has other congenital issues.
Ms Cooper said nurse managers had met with Ms Macintosh to discuss and acknowledge her concerns.
“We apologise for any distress caused,” Ms Cooper said.
“The child’s scheduled surgery was postponed for two hours yesterday due to an unexpected life-saving emergency procedure.
“The surgery was performed within a timeframe which was clinically appropriate for the child’s non-life-threatening injury.
“The hospital has the ability to transfer patients to another facility, but the child could have his surgery quicker at WWBH.
“We are committed to ensuring the needs of all patients are being met and providing the highest level of care.
“People who have concerns about their care in hospital are encouraged to talk to the nurse in charge of the ward or the hospital manager.
“If they still have concerns, people are asked to call the MLHD complaints telephone line 1800 011 824 or email the chief executive on MLHD-FeedBack@health.nsw.gov.au.”